This idiot used the emergency lane to pass traffic to eventually gain essentially no time at all.
Yankee Expressway commuter and Redditor /u/Patandorf shared headshaking dashcam footage from earlier this week (Apr 25, 2025) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing an idiot in his BMW using the left shoulder to pass cars only to not gain any time, at all.
Check out the dashcam video and original Reddit thread embedded below.
Their tires and my paint just to save no time[oc]
byu/Patandorf inIdiotsInCars
The incident happened on the 84 just before Exit 25 onto Harpers Ferry Rd. and Reidville Dr. (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
In the dashcam footage, we can see OP driving down the fast lane of the 84. Traffic’s not necessarily slow; in fact, it’s moving normally.
OP is going the speed of traffic and is technically even speeding at 70 MPH in a 55 MPH zone.
To his left, a driver in a BMW SUV can be seen going well above 70 MPH on the left shoulder, passing traffic, kicking up paint-damaging dust as he drives by.
The BMW driver eventually slots back into traffic a few yards in front of OP, essentially gaining no advantage despite such a sketchy move.
“Want flat tires? Because that’s how you get flat tires,” the top comment from /u/Styckx reads
“Looks kinda like they had beef with that sedan that was flying up the second and third lanes. But the sedan was not expecting them to do this lol,” /u/Real_Stinky_Pederson added.
“The price of impatience is never cheap,” /u/Trandoshan-Tickler wisely replied.
In Connecticut and most, if not all, states, this is highly illegal. Those caught driving on the shoulder for non-emergency reasons are subject to an infraction with a $88 base fine before all the fees.
That fine can go exponentially larger, up to $2500 if anyone is injured and up to $10,000 if driving on the shoulder results in a traffic fatality.
Maybe if you weren’t camping out in the left lane minding everyone else’s business he wouldn’t have had to pass you on the left. It is against the law in CT to “camp” in the left lane. There are two major hospitals in that area. How do you know he wasn’t rushing a sick person or child to the ER. Before critiquing others on the highway you should worry about out your own driving. Especially since you feel the need to post video showing both of you breaking the law. Just imagine if he was trying to get to a hospital and your camping slowed him down.
According to Connecticut General Statute § 14-230, drivers in Connecticut must keep to the right-hand side of the road unless overtaking, passing another vehicle, or preparing for a left turn at an intersection, private road, or driveway. Driving in the left lane continuously may result in a variable fine of up to $90, and one point added to your driver’s license.